What ShareBuilder Gained from Capital One

On February 17, 2012, Capital One COF officially welcomed ShareBuilder into its family. The acquisition, which was announced in June 2011, came after ING Group, ShareBuilder's parent company, agreed to sell ING DIRECT USA as part of a restructuring agreement with the European Union. Since that time, ShareBuilder has continued to push forward with its effort to advance the company, announcing new features and improving customer service. "We are a top 10 financial firm now," Dan Greenshields, President and Chief Investment Officer of ShareBuilder Advisors LLC, told Benzinga, adding that the acquisition has allowed the company to compete on a "dollar-for-dollar basis and a customer-for-customer basis with the guerrillas in our industry." "We were a startup 12 years ago, so we got to where we are by being very scrappy and building solid products," Greenshields added. "We don't want to lose that edge, but now we've got the resources of a very large company to do it on a national scale. We're excited about that, and they're excited about us as well." From day one, Greenshields said that ShareBuilder has benefited from the evolution of digital technology. "Ninety-five percent of our trades go through [online] and never touch a human hand, and it [has been that way] from the very beginning," he said. "That's how we're able to offer such a low price. Back in the day, when humans had to handle tickets, your ticket was $30 to $70." In providing some final thoughts, Greenshields said that with the fears in the marketplace, "we have seen very strong flows in the bond front." "I do worry that too much money is going into long-term bonds for people," he said. "When the interest rate cycle eventually turns and rates go up, a lot of people don't understand that when rates go up, bond prices go down, and likewise, mutual funds and ETF prices will go down. We've been on a down cycle for quite some time and we have to really be watching for that turn." Follow me @LouisBedigianBZ